We Visited All 63 U.S. National Parks

When visited:            1970s as a child,  April, 2005, July, 2009

Date Established:      December 26, 1935

Park ranking:            53 out of 63

Why to go:                 Spectacular fall foliage, Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge mountain views

Why not to go:          It receives a lot of visitors from the northeast and DC

Shenandoah National Park from Old Rag Trail – November

Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is the closest national park to where we live – so you know what happens when you live close to something – you overlook it. 

I remember as a child, riding on Skyline Drive in the national park with my grandparents in a motorhome – this was in the 1970s and I really didn’t know about the national parks – my grandparents really never went to them and I remember the slowness of the drive with an RV – we were headed to Florida which I was excited about, so this seemed like a painful, slow detour.  We also toured Luray Caverns on our trip.  We enjoyed the national park scenery on the drive, but we didn’t do any hiking or strenuous activity– my grandparents were in their late 60s and had mobility issues.  So, back then Shenandoah National Park was a detour on a journey to Florida sunshine.

Missy observing the valley below

But, my perspective has changed.  It is hard for national parks east of the Mississippi to feel like a true national park because of the civilization and build up that had occurred.  I often have said that if Niagara Falls had been in Oregon, it would be a national park, because the commercialization of the site would not have yet occurred.  Yet, Shenandoah National Park has a national park feel despite its proximity to our nation’s capital.

Whether driving the 100+ miles of Skyline Drive or hiking on over 500 miles of trails including the famous Appalachian Trail to back country camping, Shenandoah has something for everyone.  My wife and son, Matt, hiked to Old Rag (which now requires a permit) and declared it one of the most special hikes that they have done.  (I was working and unable to attend – maybe I need to go myself.)

There is a unique beauty to the Blue Ridge mountains that can be appreciated from the ridge tops or from the valley floor – the vibrancy of color and the accessibility to wilderness, calls for one to go exploring.  We have done a few, short trips to the Blue Ridge mountains that included ventures into Shenandoah National Park.  But we are far from regulars and far from experts on the park.  The park is so long that it has three sections and entrances (North, Central and South).  Considering our proximity to the park most of our trips were to the North or Central sections.  The information below taken from the NPS site shows the access points to the park.

“You can enter Shenandoah with your vehicle at only four places along Skyline Drive:

Front Royal Entrance Station (mile 0) by Rt. 66 and 340 in Front Royal, Virginia.

Thornton Gap Entrance Station (mile 31.5) by Rt. 211 near Luray, Virginia.

Swift Run Gap Entrance Station (mile 65.5) by Rt. 33 near Elkton, Virginia.

Rockfish Gap Entrance Station (mile 104.6) by Rt. 64 and Rt. 250 (also the northern entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway)”

We have entered the park via the Thornton Gap Entrance and Front Royal Entrance.  Skyline Drive covers the length of the park and is 105 miles and takes 3-4 hours to drive without stops. 

When our kids were younger, we took them to Luray Caverns which is about 20 minutes from this entrance and worth doing as well.  We also did some minor walking near the Visitor Center. A day trip that I remember with two of my sons (my wife was working) was a hike to the Overall Run Falls from the Matthew Arm Campground at mile 22.2  of Skyline Drive. We used the Front Royal Entrance which is a good 3 hour 15 minute drive from Elizabethtown. 

My middle son, Matt, was very interested in waterfalls and his usual souvenir from parks was a waterfall book.  We often joked about it on our long family trips – a favorite family question to occupy car time was “would you hike ten miles to a 45 foot waterfall?”  — the distance and length would always change and would receive mixed reviews from his brothers. 

We did the day trip from our Elizabethtown home, leaving early in the morning.    The hike is about a 5-mile round trip hike which we did in a couple of hours.  We had two different viewpoints of the falls. At the first viewpoint, you can see the upper falls. Continue downhill on the main trail another 1,300 feet for another view. Overall Run Falls is the tallest falls in Shenandoah at 93 feet. Note that unless rain is plentiful, Overall Run Falls may have minimal to no water flow.

We chose the hike because it was the tallest falls.  The hike wasn’t hard or long but it allowed us to explore the beauty of the park in a day trip from our house.  Unfortunately, we have no saved phots from our walk to the falls to share in this post.

Rocks and Directional Marker from the Old Rag hike

Shenandoah deserves more time and respect than I have given it – probably true for the New River Gorge National Park also – I am sure if I had done the Old Rag hike or done more of the longer hikes in the park it would rank higher…  That’s on me – not the park.

Another factor is probably the resemblance to much of my home state, Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania is blessed with over 100 state parks and forests which provide ample hiking opportunities, access to waterfalls and lakes and beautiful scenic vistas which emanate color during the fall foliage season.  All of this is without the 3 hour drive! Of course, Pennsylvania is affectionately called Rocksylvania due to its hiking terrain and in the spring and summer once must be on the lookout for timber rattlesnakes!

Pa timber rattler on the Standing Stone Trail in Pennsylvania

The Mid-Atlantic states offer a great perspective to get outdoors and enjoy the waterfalls, scenic ridges, wildlife and spring flowers or fall foliage. If you haven’t made the trip — consider it!

Note: Photo credits for Old Rag Hike to Matt Stephens!